Constellr launches first satellite, ushering in a new era of global thermal monitoring

A New Era of Thermal Earth Observation

With its second satellite now in orbit, constellr has reached a major milestone: sub-daily revisit capability, day and night. Thermal Earth Observation goes beyond what the human eye—or traditional satellite imaging—can see. By measuring temperature variations across the planet, it uncovers hidden patterns such as heat stress, inefficiencies, underground activity, below-canopy dynamics, and emerging environmental or operational changes.Even at night, thermal data reveals what remains invisible in optical imagery.

SkyBee-2: Expanding Capacity and Confidence

The launch of SkyBee-2 marks an important shift: constellr is moving toward a scalable, secure Constellation-as-a-Service (CaaS) model.

With two operational satellites, the company now delivers:

• 1.5-day midday metric revisit time
• Overnight acquisitions across key regions
• More resilient and continuous mission coverage

This means governments, intelligence users, and operators of critical infrastructure can rely on a steady flow of thermal intelligence throughout the day.

Strengthening Europe’s Strategic Position

Gianluigi Baldesi, Head of ESA’s Ventures and Financing Office, highlighted SkyBee-2 as a strong example of how ESA accelerates innovation:

“By enabling early commercial validation and fostering public-private collaboration, we help cutting-edge European companies like constellr bring transformative capabilities to market faster — supporting Europe’s goals for climate resilience, strategic autonomy, and technological leadership.”

Building the World’s Leading Thermal Constellation

The addition of SkyBee-2 demonstrates constellr’s ability to scale both technologically and operationally. The company is now progressing toward a sovereign-grade thermal constellation, offering secure tasking and reliable, high-frequency access to temperature intelligence.

constellr CEO Max Gulde emphasized the significance of this step:

“With two satellites operational and more on the way, we can now deliver thermal insights at a frequency and reliability that supports decision-making on a level not previously possible.”

SkyBee-2 carries upgraded sensors and enhanced payload capabilities, delivering:

• 30 m native resolution thermal data
• Sharpened products down to 10 m
• Day-and-night acquisitions
• Global absolute Land Surface Temperature (LST) with high radiometric accuracy

These capabilities enable precise anomaly detection and temperature monitoring across natural landscapes, cities, industry, and strategic environments.